This invention relates to a fishing lure retriever of the type which comprises a body which has means thereon for engaging around a fishing line so that the body can slide along the fishing line from the rod toward a trapped lure, means on the body for engaging the trapped lure and a retrieval line attached to the body by which the user can pull the retriever body and the released lure back to the fisherman.
The loss of trapped lures is very frustrating for the average fisherman and can lead to significant expense and can seriously detract from the pleasure of the fishing experience.
Many devices have therefore been proposed for releasing trapped lures so that fisherman can retrieve the device, retrieve the lure and then continue fishing with the same lure and hook without the necessity for modifications to his equipment.
In most cases devices of this type include an elongate line or string which is held by the fisherman. A body includes means by which it can be attached to the fishing line at the end of the rod and can then slide by gravity along the line to the trapped lure. The body then engages the lure with the various shaped elements to release the lure and allow it to be pulled back.
Many of these devices achieve some success in operation but have achieved little success commercially because the design is generally unsatisfactory, difficult to store and in some cases difficult to attach to the line.
Various examples are shown in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,906 (Mun); U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,465 (Nichols); U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,734 (Winkler); U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,905 (Ford); U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,573 (Clayton); U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,425 (Mudd); U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,920 (MASON): U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,689 (Stinar,); U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,292 (Splawinsky); U.S. Pat. No. 2,809,460 (Taylor); Canadian Patent 726,362 (Czirr); Canadian patent 555,146 (Ford); and Canadian Patent 1,178,808 (Chabot).
One of the above examples that is U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,906 of Mun is relatively simple to manufacture including a simple cylindrical body generally formed from cast heavy metal and a plurality of wires which project out of the body. However this device is somewhat unsatisfactory in that it is difficult to attach to the line and may in some cases have difficulty in sliding along the line in view of the relatively close engagement between the line and the body. In addition the device is very difficult to store since it is relatively long and must also include the retrieval string. The user therefore has great difficulty in removing the device from its storage position and operating the device and then returning the device to the storage position without the line becoming heavily entangled with other equipment in the tackle box.